El Toro is pretty good, but try not to compare with the ones you'd get in your part of the world.
The interior and the ambiance is also quiet good and if you planning to dine out with friends and family, it is recommendable.

El Toro is unusual in Dhaka in as much as it is clean, cheerful, friendly and fun. The menu is typical international Mexican, with all the usual dishes. The service is efficient and friendly, and the waiters speak good English. The atmosphere of the restaurant is cheerful and light hearted; wooden tables, benches with cushions and a neon cactus on one of the walls. Prices are reasonable (service charge is added automatically), if I remember well a typical maincourse was about 250tk. Although they don't sell alcoholic drinks, they have some fine soft drinks and there is no problem turning up with your own beer/wine. Overall, although no Michelin stars, El Toro is one of the better international dining experiences in Dhaka!http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...ity_Dhaka.html

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Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest [Al-Qur'an,13:28]

Originally Posted by Equinox
I think there is another one in Gulshan, next to the big BFC. I think it was called Mexican Chicas or just Chicas. I don't know if it's still there. I've never been so not sure about that one.

I wouldn't call Vietnamese, Japanese or Italian as non-traditional ethnic. I've been to Don Giovanni and it is a very bad facsimile of Italian food. Is there good Pho in Dhaka? Good sashimi? What's SOI 71?

Originally Posted by Zunaid
I wouldn't call Vietnamese, Japanese or Italian as non-traditional ethnic. I've been to Don Giovanni and it is a very bad facsimile of Italian food. Is there good Pho in Dhaka? Good sashimi? What's SOI 71?

Le Saigon is the only Vietnamese in town. Their Pho Bo and Pho Ga were quite good but the other dishes sucked. And it was overpriced as well. But it's worth a try. And that's about as ethnic you can expect to go in Dhaka.

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Any non-traditional ethnic restaurants in Dhaka? Definitely planning to try the North Korean one. Any other suggestions? Burkina Fasso? Tuvalu? Suriname?

Nagasaki in Uttara. So authentic that you gotta sit on the wooden floor on your legs, while being served by the Kimono wearing staff. Pricey. But the place is also a guest house for Japanese visitors to BD.

Izumi in Gulshan Rd 113. More fancy, more pricey. Both Nagasaki and Izumi serve fantastic Sashimi and Teriyaki. Samdado is good too, but for authenticity Nagasaki beats them all hands down.

Sura for Korean in Gulshan 2, but also pricey, they used to be reasonably pricey, but now they've really hiked up the prices. If you want authentic but cheaper, Korean Restaurant on Road 113 Gulshan is quite good. There's also Arirang House in Gulshan 2 Rd 51.

Grab a bottle of 2005 chilean merlot for Tk.950 (pm me and I'll direct you to where the finest selection can be had) and head to La Forchetta in Gulshan 2 (just north of the circle, beside the former Ninfa's building - Landmark tower) for Italian pizza and pastas, kicks Bella Italia's @ss twice over. Run by the Bella Italia/Little Italy chef's brother. They'll make you penne arabiatta even though their menu doesnt show it. Their Fettucine is divine (for Dhaka). Very kitschy italian decor and table cloth. You'd be fooled to think its 'khyat'.

Don Giovanni has reopened... in Gulshan Rd.121 I think. The sizzling steaks are still awesome! Pastas are a bit of a let down. Great ambience.

Cheungshing restaurant in Banani Rd. 7... very dodgy and grimy. But then its REAL chinatown food... Black Bean Sauce and Wok type Chinese... in Dhaka!

Soi71 is in Gulshan Rd.71... good thai food I hear. All these joints are BYOB, while Cheungshing and the Korean places serve mediocre Heineken.

Originally Posted by goru
ammark: Do you eat out every night or something? Damn ridiculous amount of info you've got....

Nope. I'm a cheap bastard who mooches off other people. But if I were to eat out every day I'd go to La Forchetta with a choice bottle of red coz they have great food thats reasonably cheap. Their four cheese thin crust pizza with black olives, olive oil and a tinge of balsamic vinegar is (sorry for sounding like a girl) an orgasmic delight. I've been to Nagasaki, it was really good. Never been to Izumi or Soi 71 but have heard about them from friends and coworkers quite a bit. (Coworkers and bosses love to eat out at pricey places for company dinners). Never been to Arirang either, but my sister's a fan. I've been to all the others on the odd occasion that someone else has paid for it.

u want non bengali chinese food,mainland china's good.but make sure u make reservations first if u go there for dinner on a thurday or friday,i had to wait for 45mins when i went there once without reservation

Originally Posted by ialbd
a friend told me that he knows someone who dined here with 3 other people (so 4 in total) and the total bill was Tk.30,0000 (so USD 100+ per person

Indeed, thats the impression I had it would be, but Tk.7500 to pay per head in Dhaka is insane. No wonder my coworkers wanted to try that place out off the company expense sheet so eagerly, when our outgoing South Asian head was visiting BD.

When I went to Nagasaki it was a group of 16 people, and the total bill was around Tk.54000, which comes to Tk.3500 per head. Half that of Izumi, but still pricey in my book.

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Any non-traditional ethnic restaurants in Dhaka? Definitely planning to try the North Korean one.

Regarding Pyongyang Restaurant in Banani. I've heard quite a few stories about this place, and all of them are creepy. The waitresses are all ethnic Korean, very pretty, and very smartly attired in their black waistcoats, bows and pleated skirts. Apparently the restaurant is segmented into Karaoke rooms, that seat people there, and from one source, thats where I've heard the waitresses get dodgy.

From another source who also corroborated the 'dodgy suggestions and offers' from the waitresses, I was told that the prices of the items are RIDICULOUSLY expensive! Apparently it cost Tk.17,000 for 3 people.

And the last source (who went with his charming wife) had all good things to say about the waitresses and the karaoke rooms, except they were mortified when bits of the kimchi and little specks in the miso soup started scurrying about their plates and table by themselves.

However, I'm still curious to visit and see what the heck the joint is about since I've read that the place is also manned by red gooks from the North who keep an eye out for any of the staff planning to defect from the service of their Dear Leader. (You do know that this restaurant is a chain to fill the Great Leader's coffers from countries with whom they are 'friends' ~ http://www.slate.com/id/2247402 )